Samaritan Society To Cover Chch.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31089, 18 June 1966, Page 16

Samaritan Society To Cover Chch.

After inaugural meetings being held in the St. Albans-Papanui and Bryndwr areas in the next 10 days, the Good Samaritan Society will cover the whole of Christchurch city.

The society is made up of groups of Christian people and works voluntarily for the lonely, aged, sick and needy. Each area is organised by a committee made up of two delegates from each church in the area. There are between 12 and 20 churches in each of the nine areas in Christchurch. The two inaugural meetings which will complete the setting up of the society in Christchurch will be held in the Edgeware road Methodist Church hall on Monday, June 20, for the St. Albans-Papa-nui area; and on Monday, June 27, at St. Aidan’s Church, Brookside terrace, for Bryndwr. Making themselves available for at least one hour a month if required, the Good Samaritans carry out a variety of work, including minding children, house work, mending and repairs, visiting and providing transport for the aged and sick.

Cases are referred to the society from the Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, Nurse Maude, hospitals, and other social service agencies, as well as ministers of religion and doctors. The jobs are given to members by telephone secretaries working within the smaller half dozen or so sections that each area is divided into. Supplementing Services Trying to fill in the gaps and supplement existing social services, the society was prepared to do practically any job which would assist the thousands of people in the city “who need a pair of hands stronger than their own,” according to Mr E. S'. Hobson, chairman of the Cashmere area, which was the first to be established in Christchurch.

Set up in February of last year, the branch was now handling 100 cases a month. These recently included finding homes for an incurably sick man, and a new-born baby. In the case of the baby, the society had 11 offers within one hour and a half. At present a third of the

work done by the Cashmere members came from outside their area and this showed the need throughout the city of the organisation, Mr Hobson said. With the setting up of the two new areas there would be 42 sections within the nine areas, with a total of 2000 Samaritans ready to assist the needy. One of the greatest advantages of the society was that it was able to call on a very wide variety of people and skills through being an interchurch organisation, said Mr Hobson. With all the churches in an area taking part, each person seemed to put their best foot forward.